﻿﻿﻿

As many of you know, this month's cover has been a huge challenge for me. This is the first time I have attempted learning a song on the mandolin. There have been many frustrating hours spent trying to nail this song down. (I have some wicked calluses to show for it.) It's been a bit rough. I'm so glad I stuck with it though. "Stubborn Love" is one of my favorite songs by The Lumineers, and I must say that I am falling deeply in love with the mandolin. I hope you all enjoy my rendition of the song!

“As an artist…you are constantly in a state of becoming” - Bob Dylan

A few weeks ago, at SWAN (Songwriter’s Association of Norman) a few of our members got up and spoke on “improving your performance.” I was quite inspired by what they had to say. So, here are some of the highlights I took away from it all :

2. ﻿“Find your comfort in your music…in your songs.”﻿ - Daddy LoveYou wrote (or decided to cover) these songs for a reason. Take comfort in that. Take comfort in the familiarity of what you are playing.

3. “You are whoever you are as a songwriter, so stay in character.” - Matthew StrattonTo me, this means that you have to remember why you wrote each song, how you connect to it now, and express that while you are playing. Because for those 4 minutes, you are who that song says you are.

4. “Make your mistakes a part of the show.” - Daddy Love People come to see imperfect people perform. When you make mistakes, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself.

5. “Have as much variety as possible.” - Jim Masden Play different instruments, use different turnings on your guitar. Play in different keys, genres and styles. Fight to keep them guessing.

6. “Every show has to be important to you, because you never know when you will play your last chord..” - Daddy Love This is kind of a variation of “live every day as if it were your last.” It’s just set to music. Take every show for what it is…a single moment in time where you are doing what you love.

I recorded 10 songs in about 4 hours on Monday. Three of those songs were covers. (I will tell you more about what I plan to do with those at a later date. I think you will really enjoy it though!) The other seven songs were originals. The 52 Project has forced me to write consistently and produce a lot more music than I am otherwise used to. While every song I’ve written for this project isn’t great, a lot of them are pretty good. So, it was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to record these songs and put my heart into them. The only problem is that now, I will have all of these songs that I love so much…how I will decide which ones to put on my next album? Making my next album has seemed like such a slow process. While realistically, I only released “Love is Alive,” a little over a year ago, and that really isn’t much time at all….I am ready to share with you all more of what I have been doing lately. I am ready to have something tangible to show for the last couple years of writing. These demos are just another step in that process, and I am so thankful that I was able to record them!

Here are the originals that I recorded : 1. The Engagement Song 2. Before you Realize 3. Something Better 4. I’ve Built These Walls 5. Incessant Heartbeat 6. Everything but the Sky 7. I’m Willing to Bet

The biggest surprise for me, was the song I wrote on the mandolin, Everything but the Sky. (which you can listen to below). The mandolin sounded so great in that room, and it was so amazing to be able to hear it that way. I will definitely be writing more on the mandolin! I will post more about this song, with a better video sometime soon. Stay Tuned!

Driving late last night Your smile shined like the moonlight We parked the car on a bridge To get out and look over it No one else drove by They must’ve know this moment was our timeChorus: Oh, tell me what you want And I’ll tell you something better Cause nothing’s ever felt quite like this warm weatherVerse 2: Laying on the cold concrete Two a.m. our laughs reached to the street And the way you look at me I swear there’s an endless stream of stars to see We were aware that this memory Is only rivaled by the first time we meetChorus: (3x) Oh, tell me what you want And I’ll tell you something better Cause nothing’s ever felt quite like this warm weather

This song is from week 8 of The 52 Project! This was a song that came pretty easily. I wrote it in a couple of hours between classes. I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think!

As I hope you all have noticed, I have put some awesome new pictures on my website! These are from a shoot I did a couple of months ago with my wonderful and very talented friend, Kassandra Jay.It was really cold the day of this shoot, and as you can probably tell, super windy! I have included some of my favorites pictures with this post! We shot in Bricktown against some of the awesome buildings down there. My favorite thing about these pictures is all the fun colors. It's a little different than any other shoot I've been a part of! I hope you enjoy the pictures, and the new backgrounds! This shoot had two main purposes...the first being that it was a test shoot to kind of "audition" me so I could be a model for a new online boutique Kassie and her sister are in the beginning stages of opening. The boutique will be called "Ruby Darling" (thus the title of this post). I am so excited to be a part of it! I will definitely keep you all updated as it progresses! I am really proud of all the hard work they both have done already in pursuit of their dream! Lots of love goes into starting your own business, and I feel very honored to be in a position to help them a little bit as they go after this! The second purpose for this shoot was so I could update the pictures on my website. I hope to revamp a couple times a year with new pictures! I am really excited about the new colorful look that these pictures have brought to this site. New beginnings are my favorite, and that's what this feels like to me!

If you take away nothing else...take away this :I don't think nearly enough people feel the kind of support that they should while they are going after their dreams. Don't be afraid to be that voice for those people. Don't be afraid to encourage, support, and love on others' dreams. It can be a scary journey, but I vow to fight fervently not just for my own dreams, but for others' as well. You have nothing to lose in being a positive force in someone else's life, and even if you did, it would still be worth it.